Destined To Be His Wife novel Chapter 2

TangShi tried not to fiddle with the thin belt of her simple white dress and stood upright and poised for fear of her father's anger this morning. They had been waiting around seven minutes in the bright, sunny hallway, for the arrival of the Leng grandfather, master of the family Leng, and his entourage. She had already experienced so many harsh words. Just by being present it seemed she irritated his mood. Her stepmother glared her way, not bothering to conceal her dislike when in the presence of her husband and her sister sneered at her for her chosen outfit.

"You couldn't have dressed up and made an effort? Are you trying to make us look poor?" her nasty tone fell over TangShi, igniting no response, because she refused to engage. Biting on her lower lip and turning her chin down as she looked over her clean and pressed dress. She had learned over the years to never talk back, never defend herself. It would pass quickly if she submitted to silence and let them say whatever they wanted without looking their way.-

Her dress was a basic and long classic style, one of her favorites. She had never been given any kind of allowance by her father to indulge in personal things, so all she owned she had to buy for herself. Clothes of decent quality were not cheap, and she tried to spend a little more to buy things that would last. The dress wasn't that bad. A stark contrast to her designer clad sister who was blinged out and looked ready to walk a runway.

She had been selling her art in the form of prints for a number of years online, and it afforded her small luxuries. This dress was not the cheapest, it was a good quality fabric in a nice timeless cut, but compared to her female kin, she looked like the poor relative. It was not flashy, provocative, or gave an impression of being a daughter of Lei. It wasn’t this seasons style or a named brand, it wasn’t even a trending colour.

Her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail today, with delicate dark brown curled tendrils framing her face. Revealing a pure expression with bare hints of makeup and rosy lips. TangShi always liked to stay natural, as she felt it was when she looked her best, but it only seemed to anger her father who turned his attention to her. Pulled by his daughter's criticism as he appraised her outfit, he barely gave two glances when she came down here so hadn't noticed.

"You should have told me you needed a dress for this. I can't have you mocking our family by dressing this way. It's too late to change but go get a shawl or something to cover up. Juefeng find her something of yours, quickly." he clapped his hands together, urging Juefeng to jump to it, and she knew better than to argue with him. He was a bad mooded man, quick to flash tempers and even Juefeng was wary despite being often indulged by him. TangShi’s father had no qualms about hitting the women in his life.

Juefeng rolled her eyes, huffed at being ordered about, and ran off quickly for fear of igniting their fathers rage further. TangShi ignored the sizzling atmosphere, and the angry tension aimed her way and focused on the marble floor instead. Counting down the minutes until this torture would be over.

The hallway was grand, wide, and well-lit by the large south facing windows across the front of the entranceway. If it wasn't for all her bad memories in this place, it would be a beautiful place to live. Grand and opulent with classy décor. Her family were rich enough to be important anyway.

Her nerves were already frayed as they stood here watching the clock tick slowly on. Their guests due at any second and her heart was thundering behind her rib cage in anticipation. Waiting for the first moments of meeting her fate and tying herself to the Leng family for the near future.

"I had nothing" She sneered TangShi's way and shrugged to her father as way of an apology. A clear lie. She wanted TangShi to stand out and be embarrassed by her lack of showiness, her simple outfit that Juefeng deemed unworthy. She smirked to herself that she was dressed far more proactively and eye catching than her older sister. She wondered if the young master would fall in love with her on sight and beg to switch the two, although she had no intention of being tied down so young. She had her choice of men, but she still liked to have them chase her.

The butler opened the door and the Leng crowd of three was greeted warmly by the Lei family in all its glory. Standing to attention and eager to show their respects. An impressive presence as they crowded in the large opening and strolled inside like they owned the room around them. Each was intimidating in his own handsome way, clearly of the same family, and stood tall and strong despite differing ages.

TangShi was pushed to the rear by her stepmother, harshly elbowed back as they greeted the newcomers and led them in. Somehow, she found herself trailing behind like a servant and no one noticed her at all in the babble of chatter and greeting. A swift moving of bodies like a perfectly synchronized wave as her mother enthusiastically greeted them verbally.

TangShi was unable to get a glimpse properly and treated as an unwanted guest in a house she had known as her home. Her parents pawed and fawned over the new arrivals and led them to the sitting room, ignoring her completely, where food and coffee was lavishly laid out for this meeting.